Key Points
- The Cowra Breakout occurred on 5 August 1944, resulting in 234 Japanese and four Australian soldiers losing their lives.
- An exchange program between high schools in Cowra and Tokyo was launched in 1970 to nurture understanding.
- Commemorative events have helped old friends rekindle relationships forged 50 years ago.
When Noriko Oka arrived in Cowra in 1978 as an exchange student from Japan, she was 16 years old and didn’t know much about the town’s tragic wartime past.
“I was just told to go and get along well with people there. I didn’t know English well. Then my first host father said to me ‘Maybe it’s about time’ and brought me to the POW campsite and the Japanese cemetery,” she told SBS Japanese.
Noriko Oka with students in Cowra in 1978. Credit: Noriko Oka
“(My host father) tried to explain it to me, but I couldn’t understand him much. Then he put his hand on my shoulder and said, ‘That’s okay.’
“His daughter, Jennifer Hopkins, had been an exchange student to Seikei [Tokyo] in 1977 and stayed with my family for eight months.”
Noriko Oka (second from the right) in 1978 with her second host family, the Pressers. Credit: Noriko Oka
Cultural exchange
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the Cowra Breakout, where 234 Japanese prisoners of war were killed attempting to escape internment and four Australian soldiers lost their lives.
It’s considered World War Two's largest prisoner-of-war escape.
The burial of Japanese prisoners of war who lost their lives in the mass breakout from the camp in Cowra. Credit: AAP Image/Supplied, Australian War Memorial
The exchange program between Seikei Junior and Senior High School in Tokyo and Cowra High School started in 1970, before the White Australia policy was formally abolished.
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The program was initiated by Ab Oliver, a former Cowra Mayor who served in World War Two and fought against the Imperial Japanese Army.
In 1948, Oliver became the president of Cowra RSL Sub-Branch. Under his leadership, members started tending the cemetery where the fallen Japanese POWs were buried.
"The RSL had already started cleaning the Australian War Cemetery every Sunday. I was told that he (Oliver) saw that the Japanese cemetery was left unattended. He thought of the Australian and Japanese soldiers as no different, in that they both fought for their countries. Then they started tending the Japanese cemetery too," Oka said.
"It wasn't an easy thing to do at all, I heard. The negative feelings toward Japanese people were so strong that it made Mr Oliver think something needed to be done."
Noriko Oka (centre) lays a wreath at a ceremony to mark the 80th anniversary of the Cowra Breakout in NSW. Credit: SBS
The embassy referred him to Seikei High School and the program started a year later.
Positive change after tragedy
For former exchange students, recent commemorative events like a lantern parade and mayoral dinner provided precious occasions to catch up with old friends.
Jennifer Needham was the first exchange student who departed Cowra in 1970.
Jennifer Needham (second from left) and Harumichi Maeda (right) were part of the Cowra-Seikei exchange program in the 1970s. Credit: SBS
"It was totally amazing and blew my mind. It really changed my whole life. All because of the breakout.”
Who would have thought? All those years ago, something so horrendous and painful. Now we have friendships forged 50 years ago and still growing.Jennifer Needham
Harumichi Maeda, a former exchange student who first came to Cowra in 1972, flew from Japan with his wife to mark the occasion.
“I’ve been to Cowra at least seven times, I bring my family sometimes. We also celebrate the program’s anniversaries both in Cowra and Tokyo. I have been in contact with my host family for more than 50 years. Currently I’m staying at my host sister’s place,” Maeda said.
The Japanese War Cemetery in Cowra during an event to mark the 80th anniversary of the Cowra Breakout. Credit: SBS
"At the same time, I am so moved and very thankful that Australian people turned the hatred into reconciliation and have been looking after the Japanese cemetery so well.”
Teaching through translation
Oka explained how her time in Cowra has led to lifelong connections.
She recently translated Barbed Wire and Cherry Blossoms, Dr Anita Heiss’ 2016 historical novel set in Cowra during World War II, into Japanese for the first time.
In the novel, Japanese soldier Hiroshi escapes the Cowra POW camp and is discovered by a man named Banjo Williams at a nearby Indigenous mission. The people of Erambie choose to harbour Hiroshi from the authorities and he eventually falls in love with Mary, Williams’s daughter.
“One of the things I like about the novel is that Japanese POWs are vividly depicted as young men in their 20s. It was eye-opening. I met some of them (in real life) but they were already grandpas. I forgot they had their younger days, but of course (they did),” Oka said.
Noriko Oka (left) at the gift shop of the Japanese Garden in Cowra, holding a Japanese version of the Australian novel Barbed Wire and Cherry Blossoms written by Dr Anita Heiss. Credit: Noriko Oka
“I live just two minutes from the school. So, if something Cowra-related or Australia-related happens, I would get a call. I went to the school and met Dr Heiss there.”
Oka was giving Heiss a lift to her hotel when the author mentioned her book and that she was looking for a Japanese translator.
“I thought, yes, I can do this. I know about the Cowra Breakout and I spent 10 months in Cowra. I know the place,” Oka said.
Lasting friendships
Oka recommended Japanese people who visit Cowra to chat with the locals.
“Maybe you can ask them about their connections to Japan. They might be a bit shy at first, but they would kindly and generously share their stories with you,” she said.
“Each Seikei student usually has four to six host families during their stay in Cowra. If you do the math, many people in Cowra [population less than 13,000] have connections to Seikei students, directly or indirectly.”
Eren Hasegawa (left) and Tsubomi Fujimoto, Japanese students currently on short-term stays in Cowra. Credit: SBS
This year, before heading to the anniversary events, she took a trip to Melbourne with her former host sister, who she’s known for 46 years.
“We promised each other to visit Melbourne together four years ago. Then the coronavirus outbreak hit. We were so determined this time to make it happen,” Oka said.
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